While gSchool has a few dozen graduates so far, General Assembly says it has about 6,000 graduates from its eight campuses around the world. The gSchool offers longer classes, although General Assembly has a larger number of courses and online classes.

There are other companies like Dev Bootcamp that offer immersion classes for developers, as well as online programs like Codeacademy, which is free.

Deters thinks Galvanize will be able to breakthrough in the emerging market.

“There is incredible demand today for a more efficient way to create employable skills. As a result, many new modes of skills-based education are emerging, but none that align learning and work like Galvanize,” he said.

Deters said a major factor is the co-working or community element. General Assembly ended its co-working business earlier this year to focus on education.

Deters thinks that’s where the community aspect of Galvanize’s vision gives it something unique. Galvanize is or was the home of the Denver offices of national early stage startups like Uber, which was the first Galvanize tenant before moving to a larger space, and Pandora. Colorado startups like Perch, Active Junky, and Roximity have had offices at Galvanize, and it rents out desk space to entrepreneurs.

Because of that, Galvanize often is described as a co-working space or incubator, although Deters hates those terms. He envisions each Galvanize location as “a modern campus” where students interact directly with experienced professionals. They can swap ideas, students can see how what they’re learning is used in the industry, and the companies can meet potential employees.

“I believe the context of your learning environment is as important as the content or the curriculum you’re being taught,” Deters said.

Galvanize plans on creating more campuses over the next few years, … Next Page »

Michael Davidson is the editor of Xconomy Boulder/Denver. Contact him at mdavidson@xconomy.com. Follow @MichaelXBD